A fire killed at least 29 people in a 16-storey residential building in Istanbul on Tuesday, the governor of Turkey’s economic capital said.
“The number of people who lost their lives in the fire … in Gayrettepe of Besiktas district has increased to 29,” governor Davut Gul’s office said in a statement, referring to the Istanbul neighbourhood.
At least one person was being treated in a hospital, the governor’s office said in a statement.
The fire began at 12:47, the office said, and was only brought under control by firefighters hours later.
The Masquerade nightclub, which was closed for renovations, was on the ground and basement floors of the building in the Besiktas district on the European side of the city bisected by the Bosphorus.
Television images showed flames and a column of thick smoke rushing from upper-storey windows.
The number of people reported killed and hurt rose throughout the afternoon in a string of statements from the governor’s office, as more victims succumbed to their injuries.
The blaze had broken out during construction work in the first and second floors below ground, which housed a nightclub, Gul told reporters.
“An investigation has been opened into the fire in Gayrettepe,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted on X.
Five people have been arrested at the scene in connection with the blaze, news channel NTV reported.
Istanbul’s newly re-elected mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who rushed to the scene, said “the fire is under control. Let’s hope there are no further victims”, offering his “condolences” to the relatives of the dead and injured.
Imamoglu said authorities were inspecting the entire building to assess its safety.
Several firefighting and medical teams were dispatched to the scene, he said.